Sora walked along on the bridge leading to the small island. The sun would be setting soon but he didn't want to leave until he saw it set. It became something of a tradition ever since he was a toddler to watch the sun set while standing next to the Paopu tree. Even now, at fifteen years old, he felt more inclined to continue the trend.

Though as he made it to the far bent tree, he saw that someone was already in his spot, which was near the middle of the tree, just short of going over the shallow water. As he got closer, he wasn't all that surprised to see that it was his childhood friend Kairi.

"Hey Kairi."

The red head turned her head towards her friend, a small smile on her face, "Hello Sora."

Not wanting to bother her since she probably knew she was in his normal spot, Sora stood next to Kairi, his right shoulder very close to her leg, and leaning back against the tree. "Nice view huh."

Kairi nodded, "I don't think it will change, not that I would want it to anyway."

"I hope not either, its one of those things you hope that never will," Sora replied.

He felt Kairi place a hand on his head, running it smoothly through his hair, "Speaking of change… Sora, do you remember that day?"

Sora turned his head and took a small moment to remember, "You mean…here?"

Removing her hand from Sora's hair, Kairi giggled, "Of course silly, that last sunset we shared before the island disappeared."

How could I forget, Sora thought. The memory of that day still remained fresh even after so long. He and Kairi were a couple years younger then, and the idea of them going off to other worlds on a makeshift raft was constantly in their minds as the hours went away. The following morning, they along with Riku were going to travel, and so Sora watched the sunset, thinking it would be the last time he would be on the Destiny Islands for a while. Kairi had joined him eventually, and among the chat the two had, Kairi had made him promise to never change.

And no doubt he kept that promise. "Yeah, I never forgot about it," he replied, smiling back. "You know, there's still something I find amazing."

"What's that?"

"When I woke up, I went looking for you, and yet, throughout my search, you were with me all along," Sora said, looking up at Kairi, and was seeing her look down at him with that familiar smile of hers, the one of pure happiness that only Kairi could give.

"No doubt the best place to be," Kairi replied, moving one of the bangs of her hair from in front of her eyes. "You worked so hard in trying to find me, and even though I couldn't see you, I felt you."

This time Sora was a bit surprised, he couldn't remember Kairi talking about that in any form, even to him. Being without a body that wasn't your own was something Sora knew a little bit. "Sounds like when I was a Heartless. I was drifting away, and couldn't find a way out. But, you called me back. You saved me, Kairi."

"I couldn't let you go, Sora, I just wouldn't let it happen."

And Sora believed that entirely. There wasn't anything in his mind that could make him doubt her words. The two had that sort of bond you'd find in fairy tales, but only it was real. At least, that's what Sora believed, and he had a small feeling that Kairi believed that too. "And when we separated again, I promised that I'd come back."

Kairi placed her hands on her lap; "You came back to the island, just like you said you would."

Sora moved away from the tree, standing in front of Kairi, "That's not exactly what I promised to do, remember?" He held out his hands for her.

The girl leaned forward, going into his grip as Sora lowered her from the tree to have her feet on the sand.

Her smile grew, "Then remind me, please." She knew what he meant, but she wanted to hear the words from Sora's himself.

"I promised to come back to you," Sora said softly, his arms now around Kairi's waist.

"And you did. You returned to me," Kairi put her right arm around Sora's waist, while her left crept up and placed itself behind his head, "But remember this Sora: know that no matter where you go, I'm always with you, in your heart."

The sun was just about to set below the horizon entirely, but neither Kairi nor Sora noticed, for their attention was on each other. Sora knew what Kairi wanted him to say, and he was not going to disappoint her. He leaned in until their foreheads touched softly, Sora smiled, "And you always will be, forever and ever."

And those words rang true forevermore.